By Kent Britain," WA5VJB

C o n n e c t i n g t h e R a d i o to t h e S k y

Cheap Antennas for LEO Satellites

; n andheld dual-band antennas are

for QSOs through many

/L! LiI popular
of the LEO (Low Earth Orbit)

satellites. This month we have several

145-MHz antennas and a larger number
of 435-MHz antennas. We'll show how
to combine them into one antenna.
If you have a strong arm or plan to use
the antenna with a tripod, then by all
means the 4-element 145-MHz and 8-element 435-MHz antennas can be used
together. Another choice is the 2-element
145-MHz and 5-element 435-MHz combination used in AMSAT demonstrations. It's is only 32 inches long.
Would you like something much
lighter for backpacking? How about a 20inch long 2-element antenna on 145 MHz
and a 3-element one on 435 MHz. For the
Arrow antenna enthusiasts. this smaller 2
elements on 145 MHz and'3 elements on
435 MHz version will actually outperform the standard Arrow. More on that
in a bit.
One popular commercial antenna
mounts the elements 90 degrees to one
another. This is a mechanical, and not
really electrical, decision. On this antenna the elements can be mounted crossways, but mounting them flat makes the
antenna much easier to lay down in the
back of a truck or store in a garage.

Photo A. "Cheap LEO" antenna.

want to use 3/16-inch diameter elements,
cut them .2 inches shorter than the dimensions to compensate for the thicker material. The 2-meter elements were all made
from bronze welding rod. I like to use
something to which I can solder the coax,
and the welding rod solders well.
The welding rod is only 36 inches long.
A section of l/8 ID copper or brass hobby

tubing makes a good splice. Just slip it on

and solder them together-and save some
of that hobby tubing. If you have a habit
of trimming an antenna twice and finding
it's still too short, then you can solder a
piece on the end of the driven element and
start over.
I usually hold the elements in place on
the boom with a drop of super glue, but

Construction
For the boom, 5/81' x 5/8" or 314" x 3/4"
wood works well. If you plan to mount
the antenna outside for the long term, a
coat of spar varnish, spray enamel, or
some of the waterproofing stuff used on
wood decks will add years to the life of
the antenna.
For the elements I used l18-inch material. The 435-MHz reflector and directors
were made from aroll of Radioshack aluminum ground rod wire. Forty feet will
run you about $5.00 and will make a lot
of antenna elements. However, #10 bare
copper wire, bronze welding rod, and
hobby tubing all have been used. If you
"1626 Vineyard, Grand Prairie, T X 75052
e-mail: <wa5vjb@cq-vh$com>
28

CQ VHF

Summer 2006

Photo B. Drew, K04MA, using the Cheap LEO during a Dayton Hamvention@
AMSAT LEO demonstration.
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iorizontal Omni antennas

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iorizontal Omnis
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Imni Sets
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Construction

Photo C. C Q VHF Satellites Editor Keith Pugh, W5IU, and his FT-817 using a Cheap
LEO at Dallas Ham-Com,for A 0 5 1 QSOs.
silicon glue and even paint have been
used.

Splitter
The band splitter is just a 250-MHz
high-pass filter and a 250-MHz low-pass
filter connected together.
This doesn't have to be very complex,
or even very accurate. As long as the filters cut off somewhere between 200 and
400 MHz, they will work fine. Thus, if
the coils get squashed, just bend them
kind of back in shape and go for it. This
one is cheap to build, as it's just out in the

air on a piece of PC board. You can build

the splitter into a box if you like, with connectors and all, but it's not going to
change the performance. This band splitter even makes a good project if you want
to use two other 1451435-MHz antennas.
Remember, we are not trying to filter
off harmonics. We are just making the 2meter signals go to the 2-meter antenna,
and the 435-MHz signals go to the 435MHz antenna.
Here are the parts lists:
435 high pass-two 4.7-pF capacitors;
one coil, 1l12 turns #18 or #20 wire on a
pencil.

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Summer 2006

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VHF

29

Photo E. A 145/435-MHz band splitter.

Photo F. Winding the band-splitter coils.

145 MHz low pass-one 10 pF capacitor; two coils 3 turns

#18 or #20 wire on a pencil.
By the way, you're too late . . . I have already been asked if
it needs to be a #2 pencil or a #3 pencil.
For the record, I wound my coils on a red grading pencil. For
those of you with a more mature sense of humor, just about all

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Power handling of this band splitter depends almost entirely

on your capacitors. With 50-volt caps, 20 watts is about your
limit. Dig up some 1-kV caps, and the coax will probably melt
first as you warm up that 4CX250.
For one of my first prototypes, I tried to use the last 2-meter
director as the 435-MHz reflector. It's an interesting idea to
save weight and make the antenna shorter, but performance suffered too much. Therefore, all versions now have a reflector
on the 435-MHz poition. The last 145-MHz director and the
435-MHz reflector will interact. If you plan to mount them in
the same plane, space them 3 inches apart.
These J driven elements usually bring several comments from
people new to "Cheap Yagis." The shield of the coax goes near
the center of the top of the element. This is a voltage null and
directly soldering the coax to the driven element has a lot of
advantages. The tip of the coax goes to the tip of the J. Thus,
you can think of this driven element as three-quarters of a foldVisit Our Web Site

+ 38 112"

May be trimmed for best SWR

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Practical Receivers for Beginners

118" dia. Rod

435 MHz Driven Element

By John Case, GW4HWR

RSGB, 1996 Ed., 165 pages
Selection of easy-to-build receiver
designs suitable for amateur bands
(includina microwaves) and s i m ~ l e
fun
and test equipment:

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Figure I . Dimensions of the driven elements.

ed dipole or a gamma-match with no

capacitor. In free space, the J driven element has about a 150-ohmimpedance. As
other elements are added, they load down
the impedance of the driven element. If
the antenna has relatively wide element
spacing, then a direct match to 75 ohms
is possible. Bring in the reflector and
directors a little closer, and then you have
a direct match to 50 ohms. Therefore, the
impedance matching is the length and
spacing of the other elements. Just build
the antenna to the dimensions, solder on
the coax, and start talking. No tuning is
required.

By John Heys, G3BDQ

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How to build simple but efficient
antennas for each of the Noivce
bands up to 434MHz plus anc~llary
eqpt to ensure they're worklngl

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build the antenna to the dimensions

(Table 1) and the SWR will be under 2 to
1 on both frequencies. Just build it and
talk. The design is pretty foolproof.
This antenna can be built in 30 combinations of elements and polarizations.
One of them should fit your need. The 2
elements on 145 MHz and 5 elements on
435 MHz version has done great in the
field tests. Now you can have fun with
the LEOS for less than $10.

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Figure 2. Attaching the coax to the driven elements.

For the ultimate in performance, connect coax to just the 2-meter portion of
the antenna and trim the free end of the J
for best SWR for your favorite LEO
uplink frequency. Then connect the coax
to just the 435-MHz portion and again
trim the free end of the element for best
SWR. Now install the band splitter and
this time tweak the coil spacing for best
SWR at your svot freauencies.
You have now gotten the last. 1 dB out
of the antenna. For everyone else, just

t.

Practical Antennas
for Novices

Side View

Tuning It Up

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$24)

Driven Element

Figure 3. Schematic of the band splitter.

I

www.cq-vhf.com

Summer 2006

CQ VHF

31

AMSAT demos. Arrows have been on

the antenna range at several conferences
showing 435-MHz gain as low as 4 dBi.

457 MHz, not 435 MHz.

Ref

DE

Dl

D2

40.5

**

36.5
19.75

8.5

37.0
19.0

32.5
40.0

DE

Dl

D2

**

12.2
5.5

2.5

12.4
5.5

11.5
11.5

2.5

5.25

12.0

18.5

**

12.4
5.5

12.0
11.25

12.0
17.5

-11.0
24.0

12.4
5.5

12.0
11.25

12.0
17.5

12.0
24.0

12.0
30.5

40.5

**
8.5

40.5

**

mount elements are to make the antenna

Ref
13.5

2.5
13.5

13.4

**

2.5
13.4

**
2.5

32

CQ VHF

Summer 2006

D2

D3

D4

D5

11.1
37.75

ere used for the Arrow, but mechani-

inch longer, would correct the problem

ction factor was used.

I would love to play with one on the
ntenna range, but it looks like a new set
f 435-MHz elements, each about

ways looking for antenna topics. For even

longer versions of AMSAT Cheap Yagis,
visit <www.waSvjb.codReference>.
73, Kent, WA5VJB

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